121 Armored (2/2)

She was conflicted. His face seemed to have a different kind of glow to it and he radiated calm energy. It was confusing and compelling. He looked appealing.

”Regan?” Antonin called out, looking up at Regan. He twitched when her hand spread out to his head where it laid on top of his head lightly.

Slowly, she ruffled his head. Her fingers brushed against his black hair and let his light hair fall into a deeper mess than it already was in.

”Haha, what are you doing?” Antonin chuckled, keeping one eye closed to prevent hair from entering his eye and he kept his other eye on Regan.

Regan's heart thumped again when he smiled. She must have been going crazy. A side effect of what happened earlier. What did happen earli-

At that moment, memories flooded into Regan's mind. She trembled as the moment seemed to be taking over her again. The feeling of being helpless, trying to crawl away from something she couldn't even see. An abnormality created by her own mind, made from skin she had touched. She felt like she was being haunted.

Then came the way she reacted, her body started to shake when she recalled it. The way the beast stood in front of her face and breathed death into her eyes. She was petrified. Then came when she was grabbed and forced to subdue to the monster. It hurt her throat. She could feel remnants of remembrance on her own skin when she thought about the moment. Her body shook, her mind grabbing her by the hair into another episode.

She shuddered.

”Regan?” Antonin looked up at Regan, his eyes scanning her with worry when he noticed her start trembling.

Regan's voice was shutting off as she saw whisks of the dark shadow's matter starting to form in front of her. Every moment was growing tense. She started to inch into the corner of the room, her eyes looking straight forward to where the abnormality was forming in her mind. Its thin form had already taken place, a rough large figure towered over her.

Regan's lips quivered as she watched its skin, the patched of others sewn into its face being ripped off figures laying limply on the ground and placed on its face as it made its way over to Regan.

”Regan?!” Antonin stood up, actual concern filling his entire mind.

The shadow had been formed. It stood over her like some deeply black dark matter, scenes of pain painted into its body. A hand jotted out of the pit of the dark matter before sinking back in, in pain. Regan looked up to it, tears forming at the edges of her eyes. She was scared, so scared.

Antonin clenched his jaw as Regan's hands slowly rise to her ears to block out sounds only heard to her and he hid her face, burying her head in her leg.

”Regan?!” Antonin called out again, leaning into her.

Regan heard. She looked up but before she could say a word, the shadow's hand wrapped itself around Regan's neck. It began to strangle her, the air being snatched out of her lungs and life out of her body, flowing to the ground from the shadow's harsh hold.

”Regan!!”

Regan looked up at Antonin, her eyes hazy as forests started to build in front of her eyes, blocking him out. She muttered in a low voice, barely above a whisper as tears ran down her cheeks and she struggled to breathe.

”H-help… m-me….” she begged.

The forest had clouded her eyes and now she was lost. Just the shadow and her, for her last moment before death.

”REGAN!” Antonin's hands reached out for her, wrapping around her body.

Regan heard his voice from somewhere in the forest, mixed with the loud howls of the ravens and crows.

”REGAN!” Antonin screamed. He pulled Regan into his arms, breaking away her hiding away figure and pulling her into his arms.

Regan saw movement in the forest. It wasn't the animals that gnawed on the heads of the limp figures on the ground.

”REGAN! PLEASE HEAR ME!”

Antonin pulled her even closer, kneeling on the bed and lifting her up by the shoulders. She still looked out of it.

Out in the forest, one of the bushes moved again and a human hand jutted out of the leaves.

”REGAN! PLEASE! Please snap out of this,” Antonin begged. He pulled her into another hug, his hand wrapped around her waist and head buried in her shoulders. Her head laid quietly on his. ”Please.”

A body ripped through the forest, running straight at Regan. It was fully armored and ran straight forward at Regan at full speed. She flinched as the figure neared, about to full body slam her.

”Please.”